A Catch Up

Almost nine months since my last blog post, I think I might have to work on my new media networking skills...
Anyway since my last missive I have visited Gogarth and the Llanberis slate quarries for the first time, and re-visited both. They are both venues that had been a pair of glaring holes in my climbing C.V. now I just need to do some routes in the pass...
...and in the Lakes...
...and Pembroke...
...oh and Scotland...
...the South West...
...Tremadog...
...Northumberland...
In fact pretty much anywhere that's not grit.


So here's a new grit route I did a few weeks ago...
Responsible Parenting from nik jennings on Vimeo.

I first spotted this line last November when I first visited Summit Quarry. I didn't try the line, but I did spend quite a long time looking at the holds from various angles and trying to work out a sequence. I also knew I'd need to get a lot stronger on mono's. So after three months of thinking about the sequence, training mono's, being ill (a couple of times) and a quick 8b ascent in Spain i was feeling pretty much ready for an attempt. I headed up to Summit with a plan. I wanted to on-sight (hopefully cruise) Jaggernath, an E4 to the left. Then try and ground up the project line. And finally try and ground up a route that goes between the project and Jaggernath called Pylon Direct.
Anyway back to Summit and there is a serious amount of mist everywhere, some people would call it drizzle or even rain but I'm sticking with mist (in droplet form perhaps...). After grumbling about the weather I roped up and on-sighted Jaggernath (awww to hell with modesty, I cruised it to be honest) but then I realised that conditions were not conducive to pushing the boat out on a couple of potentially hard routes so I binned it and went for cake.
The next opportunity to get up there was the next week, which was fairly mint conditions, if a little snowy (and cold). Andy led Jaggernath and then I warmed up with a quick couple of toppies on it. Then I moved on to the project line with a view to ground upping it and...
...shicka-ding I on-sighted it. Straight up with a few power screams and a little "oh bugger" moment. Shocked isn't the word. I started to think it was easy then luckily Andy tried the first couple of moves and made not much headway, phew! I think E7 6c, but with a bunch of pads it would become a highball. It's pretty hard climbing though I reckon. So an on-sight which took three months, it's the first time I've ever tried to specifically train for something which is only a guesstimate of what I need to train and it worked out pretty well. Well pleased.
Just to complete the story I then onsighted* Pylon Direct which is probably E6 6c and is really good. And again a bunch of mats would highball-ise it.

* it was on-sight but it shares a handhold with Responsible Parenting. A hold you get with your left on RP you get with your right, in a completely different orientation on Pylon Direct. So maybe the purists would like to have a lengthy debate about the on-sightedness of it all...

Anyway I was very chuffed with this F.A., I'm not sure how many grit E7 F.A.'s have been truly on-sight, or even flashed/abbed but I'm guessing not that many.
I tried to get video of Pylon Direct but only got 40 seconds of me taking off my coat and such like before the battery died (of cold??) and the camera nose-dived into the snow.

Finally massive thanks to Rachel and Andy for willingly trudging up there in freezing conditions and cheering me on.